


Vigilant

by WhyAreAllUsernamesTaken



Series: Cornstarch Glue and Office Plants [1]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: (also not realy but kinda?), (not really but I don't know what to tag), Bad Flirting, First Meetings, Hyunwoo has no filter, Kihyun is too protective, M/M, Office Worker Hyunwoo, Suggestive Themes, Teacher Yoo Kihyun, fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 15:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22498636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhyAreAllUsernamesTaken/pseuds/WhyAreAllUsernamesTaken
Summary: Protip:When you go pick up your neighbour's five-year-old son from school, make sure the teacher knows about it. It will save you a lot of trouble.Oh, and don't accidently hit on the teacher either.
Relationships: Son Hyunwoo | Shownu/Yoo Kihyun
Series: Cornstarch Glue and Office Plants [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1796113
Comments: 15
Kudos: 142





	Vigilant

**Author's Note:**

> I think I'm getting out of by 'writers'-block...?
> 
> Maybe this is going to be a little series with just random scenarios, depends if people are interested or not so let me know.

_’’Thank you Hyunwoo, you’re a lifesaver,’’_

The call ended and the sound of running engines and cars honking came crashing back in, reminding Hyunwoo of how helplessly stuck in traffic he was.

He had been standing still in the same spot for a solid nine minutes now. It wasn’t anything new nor was it that long, but his watch showed that that he had five minutes to cross a distance that would take ten _at least_.

The fact that he was a patient person by nature helped keep the stress down, but he had to admit that he was getting antsy.

Not how he had expected to spend his afternoon.

It was a Friday and it was supposed to be Hyunwoo’s day off. He was _supposed_ to be catching up on that new series on Netflix at the moment, maybe contemplating what to order for dinner. He was _supposed_ to feel free of any stress.

Keyword being _supposed_ because his neighbour had called him and practically begged him to pick up his son from school. Apparently something had gone horribly wrong at work and the man was in no way able to get away, neither did the usual babysitter pick up.

Hyunwoo had almost declined but the man sounded close to tears and he was indeed the last option. So he had reluctantly said yes and the rest was history.

There was more honking and the flashing of headlights, which did nothing to help him calm down.

To be honest, Hyunwoo was nervous.

He knew the kid – of course he did otherwise the man wouldn’t have asked him to pick Jiwon up – but he wasn’t that great with kids in general. Plus, he knew he was already running late and if traffic wasn’t going to get moving soon, he’d not only have to deal with the shame of showing up late but also feel guilty to the teacher who couldn’t really do anything until Hyunwoo got the kid. 

Luckily for him, the endless mass of cars in front of him finally started moving again and he let out a relieved sigh. If he hurried he would only be about seven minutes late.

In the end, he pulled up twelve minutes after all the kids had gotten out and he cussed under his breath as he flew out of the car, not even bothered to lock it as he stalked into the building.

Navigating to the boy’s classroom was luckily quite easy. He had been here once before to pick the boy up and it was really working to his advantage now.

So after a couple of turns he was standing in front of the kid’s classroom.

Through the glass in the door he could see two figures sitting at a tiny table on tiny chairs, a small boy with curly hair and one larger figure with almost pastel pink hair. Interesting choice of colour if you asked Hyunwoo, but the longer he looked at it, the more it grew on him.

Jiwon seemed focussed on a book on the table in front of him, lips pouted as he pointed at something and turned to the pink-haired person next to him.

Hyunwoo found himself smiling ever so slightly as the teacher hunched over even further and turned the page, pointing at something else now.

However, he got pulled out of it when he noticed how said teacher was twirling a phone in their left hand and the impatient shaking of their right leg.

Right.

He was late.

So with that he got a hold of the handle and threw the door open, instantly regretting doing so when the pink-haired jolted and let his phone slip from his fingers. The device clattered to the floor and the person hastily picked it up before spinning around.

They made eye-contact and Hyunwoo was a bit thrown off when he was met by a young male staring back at him, eyes blown wide in confusion.

Hyunwoo chastised himself for assuming the little kid’s teacher was female and how the pink had cemented that idea, but he soon got over it when the guy spoke up.

‘’Ehhh, can I help you?,’’

His voice was gentle but had a certain bite to it and for some weird reason he reminded Hyunwoo of a hamster or some other adorable little creature. Soft on the outside, incredibly aggressive when needed on the inside.

Which was a stupid thing to think but everyone always told Hyunwoo how good he was at reading people so he liked to believe the first impression he got of people was relatively accurate.

The guy shifted and caught Hyunwoo’s attention again.

This time the confusion had morphed into an uncertain gaze, his eyes sharply narrowed and lips almost pressed into a straight line.

Yeah.

Hamster on the outside, shark on the inside.

‘’Sorry sorry,’’ Hyunwoo rushed out as he stepped into the classroom, running his hand through his hair to make sure it looked somewhat presentable again, ‘’I was stuck in traffic. That’s a lame excuse but true. Still, my apologies for being so late to pick Jiwon up,’’

Jiwon sprung up from his chair, apparently happy to see him, which Hyunwoo didn’t get because the kid never seemed completely comfortable with Hyunwoo’s presence. But it was probably because the boy was quite obsessed with hanging off of Hyunwoo’s arms like he was some kind of amusement-park ride.

‘’Woo!,’’ The boy squealed before clumsily pushing his chair back and taking a hurried step toward him.

However, the pink-haired male’s arm shot out and stopped the boy from going further. The guy got up and softly pushed Jiwon back into his chair.

The boy sat back down and the guy brought the kid’s attention back to the book on the table and just like that, Jiwon seemed to have forgotten about Hyunwoo.

Before he could even be confused about it, the guy turned back to Hyunwoo. For some reason he looked slightly tensed and on guard.

‘’I don’t think I quite caught your name Sir,’’

It sounded a bit passive-aggressive to Hyunwoo and that was a bit strange.

‘’Oh, sorry. I’m Son Hyunwoo,’’ he said as he took a couple of steps towards the other male and held out a hand, ‘’Kyunghoon asked me to pick up Jiwon,’’

‘’Yoo Kihyun, Jiwon’s teacher,’’ the guy curtly replied as he shook his hand, ‘’And I wasn’t made aware of the fact that someone else was coming to pick up Jiwon?,’’

For some reason, Kihyun seemed sceptical and made that clear by letting go of Hyunwoo’s hand as soon as possible without coming off as rude, shifting his weight to his left and thereby obstructing Jiwon from Hyunwoo’s view.

Hyunwoo felt his eyebrow shoot up, both at the rather odd behaviour and the fact that Kyunghoon hadn’t called the school to let them know.

‘’He didn’t call?,’’

Kihyun shook his head and turned his attention to his phone – not without sending a quick glance back at Jiwon – before tapping a few times and holding it to his ear.

There was a silence and Hyunwoo could actually hear the ringing, but it quickly got lost when he let his eyes wander Kihyun’s face.

The guy had his head slightly tilted down and to the side and it made his hair fall in his face, somehow making him look younger than he probably was. The shade of pink was a bold move and Hyunwoo would never dare to dye his hair in such an unnatural colour – In the peak of his teenage-years he had gone a _very_ dark silver and that was adventurous enough for him – but he had to admit that it fit Kihyun.

Not that Hyunwoo had anything to back up that statement with because of course he didn’t know a single thing about Jiwon’s teacher, but from the few minutes he had known the guy, it just seemed to fit his vibe.

Hyunwoo found himself wondering how old Kihyun was. He was a bit shorter and just overall _smaller_ \- not that difficult because almost everyone seemed tiny next to Hyunwoo - and combined with soft features and unblemished skin and his delicate movements, Hyunwoo guessed he was around his age or maybe younger.

Kihyun huffed and blew a bit of hair out of his face before taking a quick glance at Hyunwoo.

Probably younger.

He wasn’t what Hyunwoo would call his ideal type but he was attractive nonetheless, especially when he noticed the guy gently biting his lower lip.

The air got knocked out of Hyunwoo a little bit.

‘’He’s not picking up,’’ Kihyun muttered as he hung up and tried again.

The words didn’t really settle. Hyunwoo was too distracted by the way Kihyun’s sweater dipped low enough to show his collarbones and how the sleeves were a bit too long for his arms. The guy was wearing light-washed jeans, showing off slim legs and Hyunwoo’s mind provided him with a very R-rated image without him wishing it to.

And the words had slipped out before Hyunwoo could stop it.

‘’You look good,’’

Kihyun shot his head up – phone still glued to his ear – and gave Hyunwoo the most disgruntled look he had ever seen. 

Fuck?

‘’Sir, I’m not comfortable with you making such remarks,’’ Kihyun replied, clearly trying to keep himself from snapping - if the way his muscles tensed and voice dripped with surprised anger was anything to go by. 

Hyunwoo was well aware of the fact that he had completely said the wrong thing at the wrong time and he was about to apologize but Kihyun threw up a hand as if to stop him from talking and lowered his phone.

‘’Teacher, can I go home now? I saw all the pictures,’’ Jiwon intercepted, his tiny hands gently tugging at Kihyun’s jeans.

The previous anger seemed to seep into the floor and Kihyun’s features relaxed as he looked down at the boy.

‘’Yeah? Which one was your favourite?,’’ Kihyun asked as he crouched down next to the boy.

Jiwon turned to flip through the book and pointed at a picture of some kind of constellation and it was then that Hyunwoo noticed that the book was quite thick and mostly filled with text.

The two continued to discuss whatever the picture entailed and Hyunwoo took the opportunity to sent Kyunghoon a quick text, asking if he could call him as quick as possible.

When he looked back up he saw Kihyun smiling brightly as Jiwon clumsily flipped through the book to point out other pictures he liked and he inwardly groaned when he felt his heart do a little flip inside his chest.

This wasn’t good.

This was sooo not good.

It was when Kihyun finally closed the book that Hyunwoo could read the title; _The Book of Constellations: Discover the Secrets in the Stars_.

Before he could even begin to wonder why such a book was here, Kihyun stood back up and tried to call again, which once again didn’t result in the man picking up.

‘’I want to go home now,’’ Jiwon remarked as he tugged at Kihyun’s sweater.

‘’I know Jiwon, but I can’t let you go with him without your dad’s permission first. We talked about that a couple of weeks back in class remember?,’’

Jiwon tilted his head, ‘’But Woo isn’t a stranger,’’

Oh.

_Ooooooh._

Now it made sense.

‘’I know darling, but you can’t go with anyone without your dad saying it’s okay, even if you know them,’’ Kihyun sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, clearly thinking really hard about what to do. 

His hair looked really soft and Hyunwoo kind of wanted to run his fingers through it as well to test that theory.

‘’I like your hair,’’

God dammit.

Needless to say, the pink-haired male frowned and crossed his arms as if he was trying to look more intimidating.

‘’I don’t think it’s appropriate, in this situation, to comment on my appearance,’’ the guy hissed, narrowing his eyes as he dug his fingers in his own arm, ‘’I do not appreciate unknown men hitting on me after claiming they are here to pick up one of my kids without my knowledge,’’

He called them his kids? That was really cute.

But then the rest settled.

‘’N-no!,’’ Hyunwoo spluttered, ‘’That’s not… I… I didn’t mean that! Well, I did mean it but I didn’t mean to say that out loud. I’m not trying to hit on you!,’’

He hadn’t noticed how he had subconsciously taken a couple of steps closer to the guy but then the latter almost growled at him and threw himself back, eyes shooting daggers at Hyunwoo.

Oh this was going _so_ not well.

Hyunwoo knew he could be quite awkward and not all that quick on his feet when it came to conversation, but he was topping his own personal worst moment.

Kihyun turned around sharply and kneeled down next to the boy, ‘’Jiwon, how about you go find us a watering-can so we can water the plants near the window? Miss Kim has one if I remember correctly, so you could ask her,’’

Jiwon nodded – albeit a bit confused - and smiled brightly, ‘’Yes!,’’

The boy rushed past Hyunwoo and skipped out of the classroom while chanting ‘watering-can’ and ‘Miss Kim’ over and over again as if he was trying to make sure he wouldn’t forget the instructions.

He saw Kihyun’s eyes follow the boy before he moved a hand to his mouth and then giggled.

Giggled.

Kihyun giggled.

‘’I like your giggles,’’

The guy properly jolted and his eyes settled back on Hyunwoo. Anything gentle and soft left Kihyun’s features and he sucked in a sharp breath, face morphing into pure fury.

‘’Okay, I’m calling the police,’’ Kihyun hissed as he held up his phone again, ‘’This is ridiculous,’’

‘’Wait, what?,’’ Hyunwoo rushed out, ‘’The police?!,’’

Kihyun didn’t respond and Hyunwoo saw him scrolling through his contact-list, tapping the screen once before holding the device to his ear again. It was on complete impulse that Hyunwoo snatched the phone out of the other’s hand and hung up.

He looked up slowly and saw the guy glaring daggers at him again.

Oh.

Now he’s done it.

‘’What the hell!,’’ Kihyun growled as he took a couple of steps forward and reached out to get his phone back.

Hyunwoo took a step back and held the phone up, ‘’Listen. I know things aren’t really going how they should but I’m not some sort of creep, I swear,’’

The guy’s eyes narrowed again and he scoffed, now standing almost flush against Hyunwoo while reaching up.

‘’Give it back,’’ Kihyun muttered as he stood on the tips of his toes, something like a strained whine hitting Hyunwoo’s ears.

Well, that didn't do his sanity any good.

Kihyun legit jumped up to get to his phone and Hyunwoo instinctively held it up higher. It was when Kihyun tried a few more times and almost crashed into him that he noticed how close they were and how the guy smelled like hand-sanitizer and kids-clay.

A weird combo that shouldn’t have smelled good, but it somehow did. Not really, but it was oddly comforting. 

Then there was a light pressure on his chest and he realised how Kihyun’s hand lay there, probably to steady himself as he stood on his tiptoes once again.

Hyunwoo was glad that the guy was too focussed on getting his phone back to notice what he was doing and how Hyunwoo’s body heated up by the touch because that really wouldn’t help his case here.

He almost wanted to chuckle and coo at the other and the fact that he was almost pouting but he managed to stop himself. Unfortunately, his distraction came with the realisation that Kihyun was, in fact, really beautiful.

Hyunwoo wouldn’t call him pretty, nor handsome because he was weirdly both at the same time, hence why he settled for beautiful. 

He had been so distracted by Kihyun almost clinging onto him that he had unintentionally lowered his arm and made it able for Kihyun to snatch it back.

The guy did and his eyes sparkled with _something_ when he came out victorious, but that was soon gone when he looked at his hand pressed against Hyunwoo’s chest.

Hyunwoo had never seen someone step back as Kihyun did.

‘’Asshole,’’ the guy muttered and Hyunwoo would have almost felt offended by it if it weren’t for the slight flushing of Kihyun’s face, clearly not from anger with the way he lay one of his hands against his cheek.

Hyunwoo let out a sigh and pushed another rather obscene image away as he remembered the situation they were in.

‘’For the last time, I really just came to pick the kid up. Kyunghoon called me because things weren’t going well at work and he needed someone to get Jiwon. I swear on everything I hold dear that I’m not trying to kidnap the kid or something, neither am I trying to talk you into bed,’’

Not that he would mind.

Just saying.

‘’For some reason you’re not convincing me with your fucking Illy-timed remarks,’’ Kihyun replied, kinda shocking Hyunwoo with the cuss-word, ‘’And even if you managed to convince me, I’m really not allowed to let Jiwon go with you. Not that I would even if I was allowed,’’

Oh, at least the guy was aware that he wasn’t being creepy but that he sometimes lacked filter, no matter what the situation was.

Funny how it had managed to get him into detention quite a lot in high school, or how it had resulted in someone else getting picked for that promotion to team-leader a couple of weeks back.

Hyunwoo let out a loud groan and dragged his hands over his face. He would have never said yes if he knew this was how things were going to go down.

And then, like God had decided to help him out, Kihyun’s phone rang.

The latter startled and almost dropped the thing again, but managed to hold on to it and accepted the call.

‘’Yoo Kihyun speaking,’’

Hyunwoo hoped that it was Kyunghoon because he really wanted to just go home and forget about the stress and embarrassing things he had said. 

Luckily for him, it seemed like it really was his neighbour because Kihyun slowly relaxed and flushed even more when they made eye-contact. 

After a couple of ‘yesses’ and ‘okays’ Kihyun hung up and continued to stare at Hyunwoo like a little kid getting scolded. 

‘’Was it Kyunghoon?,’’ Hyunwoo found himself asking.

Kihyun sucked in a sharp breath and nodded, ‘’It was. He had forgotten to call,’’

Hyunwoo hummed and almost laughed when he saw the guy grimace at him. How the tables had turned now that Hyunwoo had been cleared.

‘’I’m waiting,’’ Hyunwoo teased, a surge of confidence pushing his awkwardness aside.

Kihyun shifted his weight and bit his lip again, ‘’I’m not going to apologize. I was just doing my job,’’

Kihyun sounded straight up meek and his comment had almost been inaudible. Hyunwoo thought it was really intriguing and _new_ how the guy could go from so strangely intimidating and all sharp edges to passive and shy.

‘’I’m sure you were,’’ – Hyunwoo had to hold in the ‘sweetheart’ that he had almost added – ,‘’but that doesn’t make calling me a creep and almost involving the police any better,’’  
Kihyun winced and narrowed his eyes before letting out a huff.

‘’My apologies,’’ Kihyun muttered, ‘’I shouldn’t have gotten so defensive. It was impolite of me not to try and clear things up in a well-mannered fashion,’’

Hyunwoo thought Kihyun had been quite justified, especially with the way Hyunwoo had kept making things worse by complimenting Kihyun when they were complete strangers, but he decided he liked seeing Kihyun embarrassed and flustered.

Still, he should apologize too for his crappy timing and lack of filter.

‘’It’s okay, but thank you. I’m sorry too. I really didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,’’

Right then, Jiwon came waddling back into the classroom with a bucket and a bright smile on his face, stopping right next to Hyunwoo.

‘’I can’t find Miss Kim, so I got a bucket!,’’ the five-year-old beamed, ‘’I put water in it for you,’’

Kihyun smiled again – face still a bit red – and moved over to Jiwon to take the bucket out of his hands, ‘’That is very smart of you Jiwon. Thank you very much,’’

Kihyun glanced at Hyunwoo but quickly looked away again, holding the bucket tight against his chest.

Hyunwoo was sure that buckets weren’t really useful for watering the tiny plants in the back of the class room, but it was heart-warming how Kihyun complimented the boy on trying to find a solution instead of returning empty-handed.

And as Hyunwoo swung Jiwon’s tiny backpack over his shoulder – the kid skipping down the hall without waiting for him after hugging the life out of Kihyun's leg as a goodbye – his heart did another flip in his chest when he saw Kihyun in the back of the classroom trying to water the plants with a freaking bucket.

Soft rays of sunlight made Kihyun’s hair a tad bit brighter and his skin more radiant. He had rolled up the sleeves of his sweater and it revealed rather veiny arms but delicate wrists adored with just as delicate silver bracelets.

‘’I did mean it though,’’ Hyunwoo found himself saying.

Kihyun stilled and turned his head to look at Hyunwoo, followed by a slight tilt of his head as if he didn’t understand.

‘’You really look good. The pink is a very confident choice. It fits you well,’’

‘’O-oh,’’ Kihyun spluttered before swiftly breaking eye-contact and hanging his head down, ‘’Thank you,’’

A comfortable silence fell and Hyunwoo said fuck it.

‘’So,’’ he started, running his hand along the back of his neck, ‘’Can I get your number?,’’

He saw Kihyun’s eyes widen before he snapped his head back at him.

‘’No!,’’

Hyunwoo ended up getting Kihyun’s number anyways.

**Author's Note:**

> I love kids man, I really do.  
> Almost was going to be a teacher. I had already enrolled in college for that actually, but then I failed my finals and had to cancel that. Ended up changeing my mind.


End file.
